My experience as an English teacher in Daegu, South Korea

FMD and Animal Rights

I just got a call from my friend again and sadly, there isn’t much good news. The FMD situation in Andong seems to have gotten worse as it has spread into other provinces. People are discouraged from traveling into and out of Andong. Even a small event such as an annual graduation trip for middle school students was cancelled due to travel restrictions, so the students took their trip to a movie theater instead. While the farmers are especially hard-hit by the outbreak of FMD, everyone in Andong has been affected in some way. People from Andong are not readily welcomed into other places because of the threat of carrying the FMD into other areas. Many kinds of produce and other products from Andong are rejected for transport. It’s hard to know how long these effects will last even after the disease has been contained.

Some of the measures cities and provinces have taken to curb the spread of FMD include car sterilization sprays and UV ray booths, both of which I’ve passed through a few times. Sterilization posts have been placed near toll booths and other sites throughout the affected provinces. Cars pass through and drive over a spray of sterilizing liquid, similar to going through a car wash. As for UV ray booths, people enter the green-colored booths and get blasted with bacteria-killing UV rays. I don’t know much about that kind of thing, so I wonder how effective it is.

I have a some final comments to add regarding ‘animal cruelty.’ There have been protests and campaigns against the method of killing the pigs and cows to prevent the spread of FMD. Many from outside of Korea. I am also critical of some of the methods of extermination, such as burying cows and pigs alive. However, it is ignorant to generalize and condemn ‘Korea,’ ‘Koreans’ or ‘Korean culture’ based on a simplistic understanding of how the FMD epidemic has been reported. In many cases, people from the outside are quick to criticize these actions without a proper understanding of the severity of the epidemic or of the decision-making process that took place. I agree that there are more humane ways to fight the spread of FMD. But, making statements like “Koreans, like the Chinese, have a culture of being cruel to animals” are not productive and are flat out racist.

Lastly, my primary concern is the effect this situation will have on the farmers and people of Andong who are most affected by the situation and must live through this ordeal every day. We on the outside should provide our support and sympathy instead of criticism or contempt.